Adventures in Accounting: Part V the Final General Ledger
Accounting spends a great deal of time trying to coral and organize me. I understand why. They need me to get them invoices and our month end financial reports at particular times so that they can do their jobs. The problem is that accounting is but a very small part of what I do, no one else on the team does it at all (though they are going to need to start in 6 days!), and my bosses think it’s the least important thing I could be doing with my time. I mean, why do we need to pay our vendors, right? Yeah, anyway.
Before the arrival of my current manager, I still managed to get everything turned into accounting more or less on time each month. Since her arrival, this has become less possible. This is complicated by the fact that accounting does not understand that this is not the only thing I do with my day. So, they love me come audit time which, as a formerly failed financial institution, is more or less every other month, because I can answer almost all of their questions off the top of my head. Go, go Gadget memory. But they are frustrated by me come month end, nearly every month.
Month end is tomorrow. Ideally, accounting likes to get their month end financial reports three days ahead of the actual end of the month (though I happen to know I was one of the only people who did not wait for the last day of the month every month). And, yes, you guessed it, I have not even had time to start the darned report yet (or document how to create the report for my colleagues next month, but that’s a completely different gripe).
Today my contact in accounting, attempting to corral me again and understandably so, sends me the following question in an email: So, when am I expecting to receive the month end report?
He he he. Responses I entertained:
- I don’t know. When are you expecting to receive the month end report?
- Do I get three guesses?
- Wait, wait. Don’t tell me. It’s on the tip of my tongue…
- Three weeks from next Tuesday.
- I take it from your email that you are expecting to receive it right now?
Because a) the last option is probably pretty darned accurate and, b) I know the guy in question. English is very much not his first language (though he knows several others). He does not know me well enough to get my sense of humor especially over email. And, really, contrary to popular opinion, I am not that much of a bitch. I gave him a straight response instead:
Probably not until the end of the week. I just gave two week’s notice last week and, in addition to putting the report together I have to train my colleagues to take over my duties.
Now I am left wondering, does he have any idea what he’s in for in the next few months losing me, or is he overjoyed because he is getting rid of frustrating, late report generating, little old me? I suspect it’s the latter, which is really funny because I doubt anyone else will fight to get time to get the reports and invoices done like I did. I suppose then answer to his question next month will be. I don’t know, but you aren’t going to have it then regardless.